Div. Six of this district’s Court of Appeal held yesterday that a potential juror’s youth does not render that person a member of a protected class triggering additional scrutiny for purposes of jury selection, declining to broaden the categories of statuses that attorneys are prohibited from considering in the voir dire process beyond those explicitly highlighted by the courts and the Legislature.

The Commission on Judicial Appointments will hold public in-person hearings in San Francisco on Nov. 17 to consider three appointments to California’s Courts of Appeal in Los Angeles, Riverside, and Fresno.

On October 13, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the lat­est set of amend­ments to California’s Racial Justice Act (CRJA) into law, strength­en­ing a ground­break­ing piece of leg­is­la­tion that pro­hibits crim­i­nal con­vic­tions and sen­tences based on race, eth­nic­i­ty, or nation­al ori­gin.

(Subscription required) From overseeing gang-related murder cases to high-profile trials like actor Danny Masterson's rape case, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo has earned a reputation for precision, fairness, and composure. A former prosecutor and federal attorney, she runs a strict but evenhanded courtroom and says empathy and preparation are her guiding principles.